The Beethoven monologue in A Ghost Story is one of the worst scenes in a movie this decade, and is on par with Star Trek Wrath of Khan (2013)'s final act in terms of derailing an otherwise decent film.

Michael Bay is a genius. He has no clue how to make an actual good movie...but he's figured out that if he has large explosions, extensive slow-motion scenes, shots of American flags, and chicks in tight clothes, that he will rake in tons of $$ despite having no clue how to make an actual good movie. #Genius

Michael Bay is a genius. He has no clue how to make an actual good movie...but he's figured out that if he has large explosions, extensive slow-motion scenes, shots of American flags, and chicks in tight clothes, that he will rake in tons of $$ despite having no clue how to make an actual good movie. #Genius

That said, his formula is starting to show its age. His Benghazi movie barely made its budget back and The Last Knight bombed stateside (and underperformed in China) so he may have to adjust his plans to continue profiting.

The Beethoven monologue in A Ghost Story is one of the worst scenes in a movie this decade, and is on par with Star Trek Wrath of Khan (2013)'s final act in terms of derailing an otherwise decent film.

I could probably name more than 500 films with worse scenes in them.

Sure, there are plenty of objectively worse scenes in inferior films, but they don't provide the impression that their director's head is firmly lodged up his colon. They mostly opt to not waste your time for five minutes pontificating about themes obvious to anyone (did you know we leave things behind when we die? Duuuuude...) and then either:

1. Layer it with nihilism curated specifically for pseudointellectual Rick and Morty fans that begs the question as to why we even care about our protagonist if one is supposed to take this idea at face value; meanwhile, every film major for the next five years or so and 14 year old cinephile's Twitter account will commit this monologue to memory and bludgeon people with it. If Lowery actually intended to articulate this message, then he should never make a film again.

2. Claim that we weren't supposed to take the nihilism at face value by virtue of the dramatic irony of the ghost being present during the scene, which simply makes it a waste of time for us for spoon-feeding stoner philosophy while also making the ghost look like an idiot for sticking around to this conversation when he should be grabbing a knife or some other tool to help extract Rooney Mara's note (though he opts not to because "we all scrape at the wall". So profound!).

One of the things I respect about the movie is its silent telegraphing of themes, which this scene also throws out the window.

Michael Bay is a genius. He has no clue how to make an actual good movie...but he's figured out that if he has large explosions, extensive slow-motion scenes, shots of American flags, and chicks in tight clothes, that he will rake in tons of $$ despite having no clue how to make an actual good movie. #Genius

That said, his formula is starting to show its age. His Benghazi movie barely made its budget back and The Last Knight bombed stateside (and underperformed in China) so he may have to adjust his plans to continue profiting.

More flags, more slow-mo, more hot chicks in skimpy outfits. That's the key!

For me it was a comparable experience to La La Land where they clearly evoke older genres and their narratives do little to reinvent the wheel but the execution is sincere and compelling enough to overlook, and the entire film is paced quickly enough to continually invest you. Of course, La La Land is a better film, and doesn't lose its momentum in the last fifteen minutes, but I think this is one of the qualities that has garnered appeal for the former.